"Rasengan!"
"Rasengan!"
"I'm going to make a Rasenshuriken!"
Another year quietly passed, and in the forest, Naruto's Shadow Clone count reached eighty.
His Ninjutsu progress was pleasing; not only could he successfully perform the Rasengan with one hand, but Flying Thunder God Marks were also spread across the world with various merchant caravans.
Because Naruto's Flying Thunder God Mark was only a short line, the act of leaving the mark did not attract anyone's attention.
It's worth mentioning that through experiments with his Wood Clone in the sealed space, he discovered that this Ninjutsu was essentially similar to summoning in the original work, the difference being that it required sensing the mark to reverse summon himself to it.
It wasn't like some people in his previous life speculated, where failure would lead to being cut by space or something; insufficient Chakra would only result in a failed activation.
However, thinking about it, it was only natural, because if it were truly like that, setting aside how it would be applied in actual combat, how to even learn it would be a problem.
Overall, the greatest difficulties of this Ninjutsu, apart from the demanding prerequisites like spatial perception and reflexes, were only the requirements for Chakra control in instantly releasing Chakra without hand signs.
Because it neither violated natural rules nor harmed the user, it was not considered a forbidden Ninjutsu.
Its S-rank classification was purely due to its difficulty to learn and its strategic value, and Naruto even felt that the former might have a greater weighting.
Perhaps due to the skill replication, Naruto truly possessed Space-Time Ninjutsu talent, and his perception ability was also quite good.
As for reflexes, although he had no comparison, he felt they should not be bad, at least under the premise of not using Flying Thunder God as his primary offensive method, Naruto felt it should be sufficient.
After learning Flying Thunder God, the next step was naturally the Rasenshuriken.
For some reason, Wind Nature Transformation was much harder than Naruto had imagined.
Even with dozens of Shadow Clones cheating until now, he could barely cut leaves, and successfully integrating Nature Transformation into the Rasengan seemed like it would take an eternity.
In the original work, Naruto developed a semi-finished Rasenshuriken in just a few days, yet he, a cheat-enabled transmigrator, had made little progress in a year.
This shouldn't be!
Judging by his progress in tree climbing and water walking, Naruto felt his talent should be no worse than the original Naruto, but this development speed was so slow it baffled him…
And while Naruto was dissatisfied with his training speed, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been observing Naruto's training progress, was becoming increasingly alarmed.
He discovered that Naruto was growing rapidly at a speed he couldn't comprehend!
Kakashi back then was already abnormal enough, but he only became a Jonin at twelve years old.
But Naruto… learned Rasengan at four, and began to master Wind Nature Transformation at five.
This indicated that, aside from combat experience, Naruto's combat power was already no less than that of an ordinary Jonin, and considering his massive Chakra reserves, he might even surpass most Jonin…
The Ninja Academy's enrollment age was six!
Looking at Naruto's main body, who was currently practicing on a tree in the crystal ball, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed heavily again.
He had lost count of how many times he had sighed this year; every time he saw Naruto's astonishing talent, he deeply regretted his decision to conceal Naruto's identity.
But now, the Uchiha clan meetings were becoming more frequent, and friction with the Village was clearly escalating, so it was too late even if he wanted to announce it now.
"Naruto~"
In the crystal ball's image, Ino, as always, arrived at the small river where Naruto was training, carrying a bento box.
"Time to eat! I brought watermelon today."
Ino took off the lunch cloth folded on top of the box and spread it on the grass, then sat down gracefully like a lady.
Naruto's main body, who was practicing on the tree, stopped, went to the river, washed the bloodstains from his hands, and then, without any formality, sat down beside the girl.
"Mom made tuna rice balls today, and also cut watermelon, which she already chilled in the well!"
Ino said, handing Naruto a slice of cut watermelon.
"Thank you."
Naruto took the watermelon and bit into it; it wasn't very sweet, but he hadn't eaten watermelon in a long time.
Among fruits, Naruto's favorite was watermelon, followed by oranges and pineapples, but because they were troublesome to prepare, he ate watermelon the most.
"Oh, Naruto, you're still so formal…"
Ino cupped her small face, gazing at Naruto eating watermelon with an infatuated expression.
Indeed, Naruto was so handsome; that calm yet slightly indifferent aura truly made one unable to resist!
The little girl screamed frantically inside, but on the surface, she forced herself to remain composed, posing as a lady, her gaze directed at the Shadow Clones on the small river trying to cut off the river water with Wind Nature Transformation.
"By the way, I've always been curious, what are those clones on the water doing?"
Ino looked at Naruto and asked; she wasn't very interested in training matters, mostly just making conversation.
"Developing Ninjutsu, using Wind Nature Transformation to cut off the river water."
Naruto casually explained, "Integrating Wind Nature Transformation into the Rasengan will further enhance its power, but it's very difficult. Optimistically, it will take at least over a year, and to release it with one hand, it will probably take at least three to five years…"
"How amazing!"
Ino's beautiful big eyes sparkled, filled with admiration.
She had seen Naruto's training with her own eyes and naturally understood the power of the Rasengan. In her opinion, Naruto was definitely the strongest among his peers!
"But three years, that's really hard work."
Ino propped her chin, somewhat confused, "You're already so strong, why don't you take a break?"
"I need to rely on this Ninjutsu to compensate for my lack of a decisive Ninjutsu."
Among the destructive Ninjutsu in Hokage, his favorite was the Rasenshuriken.
Although its power couldn't compare to ultra-large-scale destructive Ninjutsu like Tailed Beast Ball or Senju True Several Thousand Hands, it excelled in its short wind-up time and strong mobility. With Naruto's Chakra reserves, he could completely use it as a regular attack.
(The Rasenshuriken can be thrown when it reaches 100% completion; Sage Mode merely perfected this Ninjutsu earlier, official setting, do not argue.)
However, it now seemed that the development time for this Ninjutsu might be very long, and he could only rely on Shadow Clones to advance it little by little.
Naruto didn't hide anything regarding Ino's question, after all, he was indebted to her for the food.
He liked Ino; she was strong-willed yet gentle and delicate.
But her current age, which was too young to be considered for a relationship, made Naruto feel it was inappropriate, so he never directly responded to Ino's affection.
"Then doesn't that mean, when this Ninjutsu is completed, Naruto will have no weaknesses?"
Ino's eyes were full of admiration; as the little princess of the Yamanaka clan, she clearly understood the concept of having no weaknesses.
"Hmm, basically."
Naruto nodded, "At that time, I can leave Konoha."
"Eh?"
Ino paused for a moment, and after regaining her composure, the smile on her face gradually froze: "Leave… Konoha? Naruto, do you… have somewhere you need to go?"
"I plan to travel around, see the world, and then find a habitable place to settle down."
Naruto picked up a tuna rice ball and took a bite: "I understand your feelings, Ino, but we are both still too young, so it's better to make things clear beforehand."
Ino bit her lip, feeling a faint unease: "Then, Naruto, when will you… come back?"
"The future, I can't say for sure."
Naruto's tone was calm, but Ino still understood his meaning.
She gazed steadily at Naruto, and tears suddenly streamed down Ino's cheeks.
Naruto saw this, felt a wave of helplessness, and raised his hand to wipe away Ino's tears, gently comforting her: "Don't cry. I control Space-Time Ninjutsu, so even crossing the Ninja World wouldn't take much time. We can still meet often."
Ino stopped sobbing: "Really?"
Naruto smiled: "What, are you doubting my strength?"
"No, not at all. Then… it's a deal."
Ino wiped her tears and extended her hand: "Pinky promise, whoever lies has to swallow a thousand needles!"
"Okay, it's a deal."
Naruto reached out and gently hooked her delicate, soft little finger, and only then did Ino break into a smile.
Regarding Naruto's departure, Ino had actually had a premonition, but Naruto brought it up too early and too suddenly, leaving her unprepared.
She didn't ask Naruto if he could stay in Konoha; the girl's sensitive and delicate mind had long since made her understand Naruto's awkward position in the Village.
So she wouldn't, and didn't want to say such foolish words as asking Naruto to stay, but calmly accepted the outcome.
After all, it wasn't like they would never see each other again.
However, compared to Ino's calmness, Hiruzen Sarutobi was clearly having difficulty accepting it…